Tooltip Tuesday

While I agree with Danielle that all four types of questions – observational, reflective, interpretive and decisional – are both amazing and necessary, I disagree completely with using them during a brainstorming session.

The best place for these types of questions is actually after the brainstorming session once all ideas have been gathered together and put into a report. At that point, a smaller senior strategic group should be assembled to review all of the ideas and select the ones that should move forward.

The idea selection process, or filter session as we like to call it, is the ideal time to use these four types of questions.

After reviewing the report with all of the ideas from the brainstorming session, here’s how the four types of questions might benefit the idea selection process discussion:

Observational questions

What are the deliverables we must achieve in order for this product launch to be considered a success?

What strikes you about these ideas?

Reflective questions

What surprises you about these launch ideas?

Do these ideas remind you of anything?

Interpretive questions

What more do we need to know or further explore before we move forward with any of these ideas?

What would a launch like this mean for us?

Decisional questions

Who will do what by when?

What do we need to start, stop, or continue doing in order to make these ideas work?

Ask these questions at the right time for better brainstorming success

Asking these types of questions at the right time is critical. If you ask them during the brainstorming session, it will completely disrupt the free flow of ideas and drive everyone into an executional headspace.

If you don’t ask them during the idea selection process/filter session, then you may find out later that not enough time was spent exploring the ideas and ensuring they are both feasible and profitable.

For today’s Tooltip Tuesday, here’s a David Letterman-style Top 10 list on how to keep a brainstorming session on track:

Quantity not Quality

When brainstorming, the goal is to express as many ideas as possible very quickly. Do not self-censor or hesitate before offering an idea. A free exchange is what can help bring the most brilliant ideas to the surface.

Write Everything Down

Assign one person per team to write down all of the ideas on a large sheet of easel pad paper that can be seen by all participants. Make sure that someone in the room is then in charge of typing up all the ideas within 24 hours of the session.

Negativity Cramps Creativity

All ideas should be welcome and no one (leader or participant) should issue any type of verbal criticism toward an idea presented, no matter how off base it may seem at the time. This will help keep the environment supportive and help to encourage everyone to take part in the process.

Time’s Up!

For fertile idea generation, set a time limit. Great ideas are best served when you force your brain to work on a rapid-fire basis, rather than allowing it time to overthink.

Change of Scenery

The best brainstorming and idea generation often happen in new surroundings. So, leave the all-too-familiar conference room behind and meet somewhere new! Getting away from the office helps the brain focus 100% on the task at hand. Plus, it makes it more difficult for you to be pulled away!

Small Groups

Brainstorming works best when a large group is broken down into small groups of five people. When a group is too large, some attendees may not feel as comfortable participating, or worse, they just check out and let the other guests do the work.

Divergent Thinking

Use multiple forms of external stimuli to generate a long list of random thoughts, words and feelings. You can find these external stimuli through photo association, scavenger hunts, line drawings, or even by just looking out the window!

Convergent Thinking

Provide the guests with a clearly articulated task. Guests should never be given the task in advance, or the “diverge” portion of the process will be compromised. Ask the guests to use the long list of random thoughts, words and feelings as “spring boards” to solve the task at hand. Not everything on the random list of words will work, so just focus on the words that are easily transformed into ideas.

Physical Movement

Most facilitators hugely underestimate this one. It‘s CRUCIAL that you get people “into action”. Let them search for something, do something, but get them OUT of their chairs.

Have Fun!

Brainstorming has to be fun! It’s a great way to boost morale among employees and help them to feel part of the decision-making process.

See Marilyn Live!

What do popcorn and creativity have in common? You may be surprised to learn the two are more similar than you think… As long as you don’t drown the popcorn in butter and seasoning!

The whole grains in popcorn help keep you mentally alert by regulating glucose flow, while a one-two punch of B6 and B12 vitamins boost short-term memory and concentration.

What we eat affects our creative energy. Processed foods are high in trans fats, excessive sodium and sugar, as well as artificial ingredients and additives. They not only drain our creativity but they will also leave us feeling foggy, uninspired, and bored!

Power foods to help with brainstorming and idea generation

Check out these foods and beverages to help get your creative juices flowing:

Blueberries

Green tea

Baked salmon

Egg yolks

Pumpkin seeds

Water

Chocolate (the pure, dark stuff)

Citrus fruits

Broccoli

Walnuts

Now you might be asking yourself, where does booze fall on the list? It doesn’t.

Most big ideas created under the influence turn out to be not so big the following day. I think many of us can relate to some alcohol-induced ideas that were epic at the time… But ultimately turned out to be epic fails!

So the next time you are in charge of organizing the snacks for a creative thinking session, save the beer and Doritos until after the meeting!

People have different sensory triggers when thinking creatively, particularly brainstorming, so it’s important to make sure you have thought about all five senses when preparing for your session.

First, let’s literally and figuratively take a look at some effective ways to fire up your sight sensory system.

The Sight Sensory System and its Connection to Brainstorming

Sight is processed visually. Visual sensory stimuli is ‘picked up’ through visual receptors located in the eye and are stimulated by light, colour and movement.

Once again, I return to childhood memories and some of the amazing toys associated with that time of life. Kids are so attracted to highly visual toys that there are a ton to choose from!

Several toys that I personal enjoyed as a child have been incorporated into our brainstorming sessions. Guests love them!

Kaleidoscopes

‘You get what you pay for’ truly applies here. If you decide to purchase a kaleidoscope for your next brainstorming session, buy the best you can find.

Mirrors, angles and other ordinary objects working together scientifically create the images and colours you see when looking through a kaleidoscope. The better the kaleidoscope, the more intense the colours and the movement of the shapes!

Jacob’s Ladder

This is a colourful wooden toy that derives its name from a connection between the earth and heaven that the biblical Patriarch Jacob dreams about during his flight from his brother Esau, as described in the Book of Genesis.

Most people I work with have never seen one before! If you decide to purchase a Jacob’s Ladder, keep an eye out for the most colourful ones.

Check out this video of one in action:

Glow Sticks

These are fun, multi-coloured, light-up sticks that can be linked together to form chains, bracelets or necklaces. You need lots to really make an impressive visual impact, so buy them online in bulk!

Sight sensory igniters are plentiful and fun to collect. Give these three favourites a try or take a trip to a toy store and discover some new ones! Please let me know if you have any personal favourites!

Creative Thinking Workshops

Are you at a roadblock when it comes to thinking creatively? Discover how Barefoot Brainstorming can help your team unlock new ideas! Get in touch today.

Hmm… I wonder if you have your headphones on and are listening to music while reading this!

Although I am likely the least musical person on the planet when it comes to either singing or playing an instrument, I am passionate about music! What I didn’t know until recently was that music has a truly profound effect on both our brains and our bodies.

In my oversized bag of tricks that I roll into every brainstorming session, I always carry a beat up old docking station and an iPod Nano. It’s the first thing I pull out of my bag and fire up when I begin setting up the room. The music is always on during the session, but at a low enough level that it doesn’t intrude on the process or the discussion.

I receive all kinds of comments from session guests about the music! Sometimes, they don’t even realize it’s playing during the session until the very end. Other times, guests tell me how much they enjoyed the music and thank me for providing it.

When we struggle (just enough) to process things as we normally would, we resort to more creative approaches, resulting in big ideas!

But be careful not to crank the tunes up too much! If the music is too loud, it becomes overwhelming and we can’t process anything. I think that’s why I always have to turn the music down or off when I am driving and need to focus on directions — I know I am not the only one!

For your next brainstorming session, here are a few of my absolute favourite tunes! Give it a try at a low level and make sure that you include lots of different genres to appeal to everyone’s musical tastes!

As a child in school my teacher Miss Dale used to yell at me to “Stop fidgeting!”

“It helps me to think!”, I would respond.

“No, it doesn’t. That’s ridiculous!”, she would retort. She was completely unwilling to entertain that idea.

Well, it turns out Miss Dale was wrong. Playing, doodling and fidget spinning are all very productive for creative thinking and active listening. When we use our left and right hands, we tap into 80% of our brain!

Can fidget spinners double as brainstorming tools?

I recently had the privilege of working with The Co-operators in Guelph. It was a group of 20 comprised of Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennials.

The first thing they asked me as I was setting up their team tables with Play-Doh and tactile toys was, “Do you have any fidget spinners?”

Thankfully, after looking around carefully and doing some price-comparison shopping, I had purchased several just the day before. I was only able to purchase 10, so they had to share and they did that very “co-operatively!”

Wow — I was truly amazed by how popular they were, and by all of the crazy tricks the group could perform with them! It reminded me of the kids in school who had perfected the art of spinning a pen or a pencil over their thumb knuckle (Miss Dale also used to yell at them!)

It’s pretty much the same thing — just enhanced when using a fidget spinner. When it comes to fidget spinners, I am a total fan… but then again I have always been a fan of fidgeting!

The ideas the Co-operators teams created that day were incredible. Did the fidget spinners help? I think so… And you can take that to the bank Miss Dale!

Update your team’s brainstorming tools and techniques

If it’s time to put a modern spin on your next brainstorming session – we can help! Contact us today.